Problems persist at Manus Island processing centre: UNHCR Australia report
UNHCR finds improvements since January, but current arrangements still do not meet international protection standards for reception and care of asylum-seekers.
CANBERRA, Australia, July 12 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency said on Friday that problems persist at an island processing centre in Papua New Guinea that the Australian government uses to review claims by asylum-seekers.
The finding came in UNHCR's second report on the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, which was compiled by a protection team that visited the island from June 11-13 to assess reception conditions at the processing centre under UNHCR's mandate. The team met with asylum-seekers and senior officials from Papua New Guinea and Australia, as well as staff of key service providers.
"The mission found improvements since its last visit in January, but current arrangements still do not meet international protection standards for the reception and treatment of asylum-seekers," a UNHCR spokesman said. "Living conditions are still harsh, processing remains slow and asylum-seekers are growing despondent over the lack of certainty about their future," he added.
Among the improvements has been the transfer of all children and their families to Australia, progress towards establishing a legal framework for processing, and some improvement in the physical facilities at the processing centre. "Our team also acknowledged the best endeavours of staff on site, under very challenging circumstances, to assist asylum-seekers living at the centre," the spokesman said.
However, UNHCR's inspection also revealed lingering shortcomings. Freedom of movement is still extremely limited in what continues to amount to an environment of open-ended, mandatory and, in UNHCR's view, arbitrary detention.
The team observed cramped living quarters, especially for single men housed in canvas tents. They told UNHCR that each tent accommodated four to six men and was very hot, especially from late afternoon into the night. Many asylum-seekers also expressed concern about hygiene issues related to bathroom facilities and food preparation, and poor access to medical services.
The report, which was released on Friday, said the lack of certainty among asylum-seekers over their future, coupled with slow progress in establishing effective processing arrangements, was contributing to pervasive frustration and despondency. Left unresolved, this could increase psychosocial harm for those who are affected.
With respect to the legal rights of asylum-seekers, UNHCR's team observed that, while refugee status determination processing is set to start in the near future, changes to Papua New Guinea laws and regulations are required to ensure a fair and efficient process for all asylum-seekers in the country.
UNHCR believes that the vulnerability assessments of asylum-seekers done prior to their being moved to Manus Island should be more comprehensive and take into account the limited available services there. "We are also concerned at the lack of information provided to people who are found to be refugees about when they might be moved on from the centre and provided with a solution," the UNHCR spokesman stressed.
Overall, UNHCR considers that the combination of a tough physical environment, restricted legal regime, and slow processing mean that existing arrangements still do not meet the required international protection standards, nor the terms of the memorandum of understanding agreed between the two governments in establishing the regional processing Centre.
UNHCR is not a signatory to the bilateral agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea relating to the processing of asylum seekers. But the agency's position has always been for all asylum-seekers arriving into Australian territory, by whatever means and wherever, to be given access to a full and efficient refugee status determination process in Australia. This would be consistent with general practice, and in line with international refugee law.
The full report, including findings and recommendations, is available on UNHCR's Australia regional office website here.
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NGO Statement on Protection 66th Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee 5 - 9 October 2015
9 Oct 2015 ... ... Australia We remain deeply disturbed by the deterioration of protection standards for asylum seekers in Australia. The deaths of two asylum seekers held at the Manus Island detention centre last year ...... -
Presentation by Ms. Daisy Dell, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific
4 Mar 2014 ... ...ers arriving by boat in Australia are now subject to transfer to Nauru or Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for processing. The previous Government announced th...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2003 - East Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview
1 Dec 2002 ... ... UNHCR agreed to support the PNG Government in settling this group in East Awin. Increased tension in West Papua in late 2002 and the accommodation on Manus Island of several hundred asylum-seekers ...... -
Refugees Magazine Issue 148: Refugee or Migrant - Why It Matters
1 Dec 2007 ... ... of Nauru, sparking what became known as the ‘Pacific Solution.’ Zerghona Jawadi was one of some 1,600 asylum seekers who were taken to Nauru or Manus Island in the wake of the Tampa incident. ...... -
Reflections on the significance of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants for the Asia Pacific region
5 Jul 2017 ... .../>; also Charis Chang, ’Australia won’t be sucked into ‘silly outcome’ over Nauru and Manus Island refugee deal with US’, News Limited (22 February 2017) -
Asylum applications lodged in industrialized countries: Levels and trends, 2000-2002
11 Mar 2003 ... ... Australia. Figures since September 2001 exclude persons who arrived offshore or are being processed on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea or Nauru. Western Europe: European Union plus Iceland, ...... -
Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2008: Statistical Overview of Asylum Applications Lodged in Europe and Selected Non-European Countries
24 Mar 2009 ... ... Australia. Figures exclude individuals who arrived off-shore and whose claims have been processed on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea or Nauru. Azerbaijan. Source: Government and UNHCR. Belgium. Figures ...... -
Asylum levels and trends: Europe and non-European industrialized countries, 2003
24 Feb 2004 ... ... Australia. Figures since September 2001 exclude persons who arrived offshore or are being processed on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea or Nauru. Austria. The 2001 figure includes 5,622 persons who ...... -
Europe in Crisis: Facilitating Access to Protection, (Discarding) Offshore Processing and Mapping Alternatives for the Way Forward
Dec 2015 ... ... processing in Australia’s excised Christmas Island. 137 However, following pressures from the ... to the asylum seeker caseloads on Nauru and Manus Island’, Parliament of Australia: Research ......